SAN JOSE, Calif. – March 10, 2010 – SEMI, the global industry association for companies that supply manufacturing technology and materials to the world’s chip makers, today reported that worldwide sales of semiconductor manufacturing equipment totaled $15.92 billion in 2009, representing a year-over-year decline of 46 percent. The data is available in the Worldwide Semiconductor Equipment Market Statistics (SEMS) Report, now available from SEMI.

Compiled from data submitted by members of SEMI and the Semiconductor Equipment Association of Japan (SEAJ), the Worldwide SEMS Report is a summary of the monthly billings and bookings figures for the global semiconductor equipment industry. The report, which includes data for seven major semiconductor producing regions and over 22 product categories, shows worldwide billings totaled $15.92 billion in 2009, compared to $29.52 billion in sales posted in 2008. Categories cover wafer processing, assembly and packaging, test, and other front-end equipment. Other front-end includes mask/reticle manufacturing, wafer manufacturing, and fab facilities equipment.

Spending rates declined by double-digits for all the regions tracked in the WWSEMS report, with the steepest contraction reported for Japan. In the overall global market, Taiwan was the region with the largest amount of 2009 spending with $4.35 billion in equipment sales. In second place, the North America market had $3.39 billion in sales, followed by South Korea, Japan, Rest of World, Europe and China. (The Rest of World region is defined as Singapore, Malaysia, Philippines, other areas of Southeast Asia and smaller global markets).

The Equipment Market Data Subscription (EMDS) from SEMI provides comprehensive market data for the global semiconductor equipment market. A subscription includes three reports: the monthly SEMI Book-to-Bill Report, which offers an early perspective of the trends in the equipment market; the monthly Worldwide Semiconductor Equipment Market Statistics (SEMS), a detailed report of semiconductor equipment bookings and billings for seven regions and over 22 market segments; and the SEMI Semiconductor Equipment Consensus Forecast, which provides an outlook for the semiconductor equipment market. For more information or to subscribe, please contact SEMI customer service at 1.877.746.7788 (toll free in the U.S.) or 1.408.943.6901 (International Callers).

SEMI is the global industry association serving the manufacturing supply chains for the microelectronic, display and photovoltaic industries. SEMI member companies are the engine of the future, enabling smarter, faster and more economical products that improve our lives. Since 1970, SEMI has been committed to helping members grow more profitably, create new markets and meet common industry challenges. SEMI maintains offices in Austin, Beijing, Bengaluru, Berlin, Brussels, Grenoble, Hsinchu, Moscow, San Jose, Seoul, Shanghai, Singapore, Tokyo, and Washington, D.C. For more information, visit www.semi.org